Amy's Replacement
by Lovely SOS
Summary: Amy is too last-minute sick to go to her job as a babysitter- so she asks Ian to go as her replacement. Ian agrees reluctantly. After all, he isn't the best with children. But he agrees to go because SHE asked him, and babysitting little Cindy just might teach him a thing or two about Amy...


_A/N_

Hey everyone! I know you've been waiting on that Natan one-shot... I'll write one soon, so don't badger me. I promise it's coming. Lol. In the mean time, I hope you might enjoy this Amian one-shot, and look out for a '_Partners Week'_ update soon.

Special thanks to A Pencil in her hand.

* * *

Amy Cahill was sick.

It was one of those horrible colds that crash down on you all at once- she hadn't seen it coming, and she didn't know where she could have contracted it. But she had, and now she was sick- with the sore red nose and the chapped lips to prove it. She moved through her house, clutching a tissue box, looking for someone.

It wouldn't have been such a big problem to be sick if not for her job.

Amy had a job babysitting once a week for a nice family that lived nearby. She'd had this job for nearly a year now, and she absolutely loved it- in the beginning, it hadn't even been her idea, and she'd been sort of reluctant to do it. The idea of Amy becoming a babysitter had actually been Amy's brother, Dan's idea.

Amy knew that she and Dan had sort of had a hard time re-adjusting to what you might call a -mostly- normal life.

When Dan had been 11 and Amy had been 14, they'd learned that, upon the death of their grandmother and guardian, Grace Cahill, they were part of the most illustrious family in the world.

The Cahill family roots traced back to the 1500's, where the ancestors of the Cahills, Gideon Cahill, created a master serum with 38 ingredients. The ingredients to this serum would one day become the 39 clues- the last clue being the very formula that brought the ingredients of the serum together. Gideon Cahill split the serum into four parts, sharing them with each of his four children.

Each side of the serum had a different effect.

There was the Lucian serum, named after the oldest Cahill child, Luke. The abilities genetically passed on to his children from Luke were cunning, strategy, wits- cleverness.

There was the Ekaterina serum, often shortened to the nickname the Ekat serum, named after another Cahill child, Katherine. The special gifts Katherine's children- and their children, and their children- received were great intelligence, a real love of science and technology.

There was the Tomas serum, named for Thomas Cahill. Thomas Cahill's abilities from the serum spread through his bloodline, making his descendants very strong and agile, real athletes.

The final serum was the Janus serum, named after Jane Cahill. Jane Cahill's talents for art, creativity, and music- master of many talents- spread through her to her children.

But the Cahill's were quite stubborn.

Each Cahill wanted to have the secret to all four serums- because with all four serums, they dreamed of being invincible. Their passionate hate spread down through their bloodlines, too, along with their talents- dividing the Cahills into four equally deadly groups with many diverse talents, called the four Cahill branches.

With the death of Grace Cahill, the more present-day clue hunt had began, pitching Amy and her brother into dangers they'd never dreamed of, against their own distant relatives.

But that was the past now. Now Amy was almost 17, and Dan would be 15 soon.

The end of the clue hunt had been mostly happy. In the end, Amy and Dan discovered that they were Madrigals- the final, secret 5th Cahill branch, whose hope was the unite all the other branches peacefully. The Cahills did unite- and they took down an evil greater than themselves, mostly agreeing to stop the bloodshed over the clues and the serum.

Amy walked briskly through the house, her nerves getting worse and worse. She passed a clock, which told her it was 5:07- close to 6:00, which was when she was supposed to babysit...

Dan had suggested a while back that Amy get into the habit of doing 'normal teenage girl stuff'. She herself had been suggesting that DAN do normal teenage BOY stuff, but he knew her well- he could tell that stress about Cahill-related problems was driving her up the wall. Just because the hunt for the clues was over didn't mean every Cahill was united and peaceful- Amy had duties as the head of her branch.

So to get her into the routine of something more normal, he'd signed Amy up to be a babysitter once a week.

Amy grew to love it.

She babysat once a week for Harriet and Johnathan Walker, taking care of their daughter Cindy, who had recently turned 7. Amy really did adore it, but she didn't want to go today- she was worried about making Cindy sick, and she was in charge of finding a replacement sitter, should she need one.

For an entire year, Amy hadn't missed one week- besides the weeks that the Walkers were away.

"Oh- Ian!" Amy said, relieved, finally finding who she was looking for. She set her tissue box down on the counter in the kitchen. Ian Kabra was one of those really distant relatives. He was a Lucian.

And he was incredibly good-looking.

Amy had some past with him, but there was nothing... Going on between them now. Ian and his sister Natalie were originally from London, but after a whole lot of mess that included Ian and Natalie disowning their own mother, they stayed at Amy and Dan's house sometimes.

Sometimes they just showed up, without even calling. And sometimes they left without saying goodbye.

But Amy didn't mind so much. She and Dan had once been enemies with Ian and Natalie, but that was history, and Amy knew that the Kabras had had a particularly difficult past. She herself had one. She didn't mind helping them out.

She just hoped that this once, Ian might return her favor.

When Amy called out his name he turned around rather abruptly, and when he looked at her, he frowned deeply. "You look terrible," He commented. His eyes scanning her made her cheeks turn red.

"I'm sick," Amy shot back, which made Ian step a few feet away from her. She rolled her eyes. "Ian, I need your help. Please."

"With what?"

"You know how I babysit?"

"Yes, though I'll never understand it." Ian responded. He and Amy both knew that Amy had enough money to never have to work a day in her life again. But that wasn't the point- Ian didn't understand that for 2 hours every Tuesday, she got to relax, and feel like... A normal person.

"I'm sick," Amy repeated, taking a deep breath. "And I really, really need a replacement. I don't want to let the Walkers down."

"Why are you telling this to me?" Ian asked boredly.

"Because I need your HELP!" Amy burst. "I know I waited a long time. I'd normally be heading over there in like, a half an hour. But I thought I'd be okay to go. I didn't think I had a fever." Amy was already starting to feel like it was an effort to stand up. She just wanted to go to sleep or something.

She looked at Ian, her eyes wide and pleading.

"You have a fever?" Ian asked. He moved closer again and rested his hand against her forehead. She shied away, surprised to hear a bit of concern in his voice.

"Yes, I do. So could you please go and be my replacement babysitter? Please?"

Ian looked appalled for a second. "Why can't you ask Dan or Natalie?"

"I don't trust Dan to take care of a 7 year old," Amy shot back. "And I think I trust Natalie even less..."

"So you want me," Ian said slowly, "To babysit a 7 year old girl for 2 hours because you're sick?" Gosh, Amy thought. When he says it like that, he makes being sick sound like it's not a good reason. She nodded. "And you can't cancel?"

Amy hesitated. "I've never cancelled before. And I'd just feel super bad doing it. The Walkers are really busy and Tuesdays are their date nights." Ian rose an eyebrow at that. Amy chewed her lip, looking anxious.

Ian sighed. "Fine, I'll do it..." He muttered, grabbing his coat off of the counter. Amy felt so relieved she could have hugged him.

"Thank you!" She said happily. She grabbed the tissue box off of the counter, the idea of heading up to her room and just resting sounding like utter paradise. She suddenly froze, feeling a gigantic sneeze coming on. She quickly got a tissue and she sneezed 3 times in a row. Ian grimaced.

"Go rest," He told her. Amy nodded, blowing her nose.

"I will. And thanks a lot, Ian." She smiled at him, really genuinely glad that he was willing to help her out. She turned away, adding, "The Walker's address is in the book by the phone." As she left, she continued dreaming of the paradise of simple rest.

"I'm only doing this because you asked me!" Ian called after her. Amy was glad her back was turned to him. She didn't know exactly what he meant by that, but it made her blush like crazy.

* * *

Ian was certainly not impressed with the Walker's house.

It was little in that kind of way that was supposed to be charming. Ian sighed and rang the doorbell; for a moment, no one came to it, and he glanced at his watch. He was precisely on time.

The door finally opened, a smiling woman standing there in a black dress and dangling earrings. She looked surprised to see Ian. Probably because he wasn't Amy.

"Hello, can I help you with something?" The lady asked. She had dark brown hair in curly ringlets around her shoulders. Ian sighed, not looking forward to this already.

"I'm Ian Kabra." He said, his tone businesslike. He crossed his arms. "Amy's quite sick, so she's asked me to be her replacement."

"Oh!" The woman smiled in a friendly way, opening the door wider. "I'm Harriet," She said. She called out, "Jonathan?" A blond man in a tie came down the steps, also smiling. Ian felt a little miffed at their enthusiastic happiness. When Jonathan reached Harriet and Ian, Harriet said to her husband, "Amy is sick, so she sent her friend to babysit Cindy. His name is Ian. He sounds British!"

"Oh, alright," the man said, still smiling. He held out a hand and Ian reluctantly shook it. "You're Amy's friend? Or is it boyfriend?" In the background, Harriet hurried to get her purse and her daughter, bringing the small girl up towards the doorway.

"Just... Friends." Ian answered Jonathan Walker, this handshake lasting way too long for his liking.

"Ian, honey, all of our contact information is on the fridge if you need us. Don't hesitate to call. We'll be out on our dinner dancing date!" Harriet said cheerfully. Ian flinched when she called him 'honey'. Harriet grabbed her husband's hand. "Let's not be late!" She said to him. She blew a kiss to her daughter. "Be good, Cindy. Amy's friend is here to watch you!"

"Goodbye!" Jonathan said cheerfully. And with that, the couple was out the door. Ian stared, bewildered for a moment, in the direction that they'd sped away in. They'd just left so quickly... Ian turned around to see the girl Cindy.

She looked like a mini replica of her mother. She, too, had dark curly ringlets of hair and dark, mischievous eyes. Ian held off a wince. He'd never babysat in his entire life, and he hadn't ever been planning to.

"Hello." He tried.

"Hi," Said the little girl. She smiled up at him, and in a polite tone, she asked, "Where is Amy?"

At least they seemed to have trained her well, Ian thought, relieved. He didn't think he could deal with a little girl that was more of the screaming, irrational type.

"Amy is sick. She has a fever." Ian said, sounding awkward. The last time he'd conversed with a 7 year old was... Well, maybe never. "I'm Ian."

"That's sad." Said Cindy, her smile faltering. But then her eyes lit up. Quick as a whip, she grabbed Ian's hand and began pulling him towards what he could see was a living room. "At least we can still play together," Cindy said, nodding rather matter-of-fact-ly. She pointed to a couch. "You sit there," She told him.

Ian obliged, feeling stupid for taking directional orders from a child, but he wasn't sure what else he was supposed to do, anyway. Ian tensed for a moment, because Cindy had left the room. He wasn't sure how this worked. Wasn't he supposed to not let his eyes off of her?

But Cindy returned in a moment toting a coloring book and a box of crayons. Ian relaxed as Cindy sat down on the floor, setting up her crayons to color. Ian wondered if she'd be quiet the entire time. But after about a minute, when she'd selected a picture of a kitten with a ball of yarn to be the picture she colored, Cindy said rather conversationally for a 7 year old, "Are you Amy's boyfriend?"

Ian resisted the natural reaction to gawk. What was with these Walker people? Didn't they respect other people's PRIVACY? When Ian didn't answer her right away, she looked up at him innocently, waiting for an answer.

"No." He said, sighing. His eyes narrowed. "Why do you want to know?"

Cindy giggled. "Because Amy talks about you sometimes."

Ian felt his mouth get rather dry. He coughed awkwardly, trying to process this information. He didn't understand why Amy would be talking about him to some kid she babysat. When Ian didn't have an immediate response, though, Cindy continued to speak, selecting a pink crayon for the kitten's fur in her coloring book.

"I like Amy," Cindy said. "She's pretty and she's very nice. I like it when she tells me stories. She tells good stories. If you aren't her boyfriend, you should be." She said thoughtfully.

"What has she said about me?" Ian asked quickly, his voice sounding oddly strangled. Cindy laughed.

"You talk funny," She commented, and Ian assumed she meant his accent. Ian held in his frustration. Kids, he thought. They didn't know anything at all. He let out a long, slow breath.

"I'm not from around here." He said, careful to keep his tone light. He watched Cindy closely. "Would you mind telling me exactly what Amy says about me?"

Cindy selected a blue crayon. She colored in the cat's eyes before answering Ian. "Sometimes she says that you came over, and other times she says you left." Ian felt his chest tighten. The little girl must be referring to his on-and-off living at the Cahill house. "And sometimes you're in her stories."

Stories.

"What kinds of stories does Amy tell you?"

Cindy thought about this quite deeply for a moment. "All kinds." She answered finally. She moved on with the blue crayon, also using it to color the ball of yarn next to the kitten. "Exciting stories. Sometimes silly stories. Sometimes she says the stories are true." She paused for a moment. "Amy says your sister's name is Natalie."

Ian felt his blood turn cold. He was actually a little creeped out by the little girl. "My sister's name IS Natalie," He muttered. He looked across the room, his eyes resting on the wall on the other side. Suddenly, Cindy asked him,

"Do you like Amy?" Ian looked at her, surprised, and when she said this, her eyes were wide with innocence. Ian felt sadness creeping into his thoughts and tugging at his heart.

"I do," He confirmed. "Quite a bit." There was a pause as Cindy bit her lip, looking confused.

"Does she know you love her?" She asked, and Ian didn't bother pointing out that the word 'love' had never come out of his mouth.

"She doesn't."

"Why not?"

At this, Ian was a little stuck. Because she'll never like me back, he thought. Let alone love me. But he didn't want to say that out loud, so instead, he said, "Could you tell me a story that Amy told you?" He paused. "One with me in it?" He added. Cindy looked up from her coloring book, looking excited.

"Yes!" She cheered. Then she grew more solemn, looking at the picture she'd colored in her book. "I'm sorry," She said quietly, "I should have asked you if you wanted to color, too."

Ian was surprised to feel laughter rising inside of his chest. "It's alright," He promised her. But she scooped up her crayons and her book and dumped them in his lap anyway. Then she climbed up onto the couch to sit beside him.

"You can color while I tell you the story." She stated.

"Okay," Ian said, bewildered.

As Cindy began to speak, Ian selected a picture of a crocodile and began rather sheepishly to color it. He paid careful attention to the story.

At first, it wasn't a retelling of anything he knew of, it seemed. But as Cindy went on, it was a description of a Christmas that Amy had had. Sometimes Cindy paused in effort of thinking what had happened next. She went on until Ian had almost finished coloring the crocodile. Suddenly, Cindy dropped Ian and Natalie's names into the story.

Ian realized that Cindy was talking about last Christmas, when he and Natalie had visited Amy and Dan for the holiday. He heard his name a few times, but Cindy spent a good long time describing Dan stealing Natalie's diary. (She found this very funny- and Ian DID recall that happening.)

Finally Cindy reached a part with him in it.

"And then you came and told Amy you were gonna give her her present." Cindy said. (Her storytelling skills weren't exactly top notch, as she was only 7, but Ian didn't really care as long as he could mostly follow along.) "And you didn't do it when everybody else was giving their gifts. You did it when you were alone."

Ian finished coloring the crocodile. Cindy flipped the page and indicated that he should color the picture of the mouse.

"And you gave Amy a necklace." Cindy said. Ian tensed. Last Christmas, he had indeed given Amy a necklace. AND he'd done it in private, as Cindy had retold. Ian didn't really like thinking back on that moment, because it made him feel embarrassed. Because as far as he could tell, he'd never seen Amy wear his present for her.

"Yes?" Ian pressed, not exactly wanting to know how Amy had retold this part of what happened, but at the same time really wanting to know.

"And she LOVED it," Cindy said, throwing up her arms in exaggeration. "But she didn't know how to thank you. Amy said it was too nice of a present for her."

Ian felt his heart stirring in his chest. According to Cindy, Amy had loved the present. When he'd gotten it for her, he'd been absolutely lost as to what she might want for a gift. But he'd seen the necklace and he could picture it around her neck quite clearly, because it was beautiful but it wasn't too 'flashy'.

"Too nice of a present?" Ian asked, staring. Cindy tapped the page in the coloring book to remind him to continue coloring.

"Yup. Amy says it's the prettiest thing she owns. But she doesn't want to wear it. She said it reminds her of you."

Ian had had enough of this. He sighed. "Alright, Cindy, thank you. You may end the story there." He stated stiffly. He also handed her back her coloring book and crayons. Cindy looked disappointed both at the unfinished coloring of the mouse, and of the unfinished story. Ian did kind of wonder what else Amy might have thought, but he was kind of too scared to know.

Time passed quickly after that. Ian suggested Cindy make Amy a get well card, so she did, using pink paper, glitter, and markers. She drew a heart on the front and wrote "i lov you' in the heart. (Ian didn't bother telling her there was an E on the end of 'love'.) Cindy got bored of writing and only wanted to draw the pictures, so she made Ian write the 'Get well soon' on the inside while she drew pictures, though she did sign her name.

(She made Ian sign his name, too.)

Dare he think it, but Ian actually kind of started to have a good time. It wasn't too hard to watch Cindy. They were halfway through a movie that was on TV when the doorbell rang, signifying the return of Cindy's parents. Ian was almost surprised at how quickly the time had gone by. He stood up as the door opened.

Cindy gasped. "I don't want them to be home!" She said, disappointment shining in her dark eyes. "We didn't even get to play hide and seek. And they'll make me go to bed soon, I know they will!"

Ian laughed, scooping up the get well card so that he could take it home for Amy. "Maybe we can next time," Ian suggested, not even realizing what he was saying. Cindy's eyes lit up. Ian felt his face turn red.

"You're coming back next time?" Cindy said. "That's fun. But can Amy come, too?" Ian shook his head, smiling slightly despite his initial embarrassment.

"Of course she can." He said.

Ian said goodbye to Cindy one last time, and the Walkers tried to pay him on the way out. Ian frowned. He didn't need their money, and he would have felt pretty bad at taking it. "It's fine, you can keep your money," He said as politely as he could, gently turning Mr. Walker's hand away.

Ian disappeared after that, knowing that if he stuck around, he'd be in an all-out battle with the Walkers, probably, and with their hospitality, he'd most definitely lose.

Ian drove home slowly, processing everything that had happened in the last two hours and a half.

* * *

It was only 8:22, but the house seemed completely quiet.

At least until Ian passed the living room, where Dan was very intently watching a horror movie with his former au pair and current legal guardian, Nellie Gomez. As Ian passed, both Nellie and Dan jumped about a foot off the couch, spilling popcorn everywhere. Ian rolled his eyes and moved on.

Otherwise, he thought Natalie wouldn't have wanted to watch a movie like that, so she was probably taking a bubble bath or something. And Amy would be resting in her room.

Ian decided that he'd pay her a visit, and that since no one else seemed to be taking care of her, he'd bring her some soup.

It was just some canned soup he'd found in the pantry. He was no chef, but he knew Amy wold appreciate the gesture anyway. He wondered silently what had happened to him within the last few hours if he'd babysat and enjoyed it, then gone to the effort of making soup for the girl he liked.

Sighing, Ian took the soup out of the microwave and placed it on a tray he found in one of the kitchen cabinets. He also put the card that Cindy had made on the tray.

He brought it upstairs to her room.

With one hand holding the tray, Ian knocked on the door with a fist, though he did so lightly. "Amy?" He called. There was a slight sound of some movement, then he heard a slightly muffled,

"Come in."

Ian opened the door and set the tray down on Amy's nightstand. Amy was lying down in her bed, but she was covered in about a thousand blankets. Ian smirked and pulled up a chair.

"How are you feeling?" He asked. Amy ignored his question and asked him one instead.

"How did it go?" She asked anxiously, her voice sounding croaky and dry. "Did Cindy behave?" Amy struggled into a sitting position, her eyes wide.

Ian rolled his eyes at her nervousness. "It was fine," He said. He paused, and hesitated to add, "It wasn't actually all that bad."

Amy grinned, her nerves dissolving. "See? Babysitting is fun!"

Ian rolled his eyes again. "Yeah, well." He said. "I made you some soup." He stood up and carefully plucked the tray off of the nightstand. Then he placed it over her lap. "Dan and Nellie were watching some movie," Ian added pointedly. "It doesn't seem as though they've made a point to take care of you."

Ian watched Amy's face turn slightly red. "I'm not even sure if they know I'm sick," Amy confessed. "I've been hiding in here all day." She paused, and Ian nodded. Amy looked down at the soup. "Thank you," She said, as shy as usual. Ian shrugged off her thanks and picked up the card, which Amy hadn't even noticed yet.

"Cindy made you that," Ian said, handing it to Amy. "She was disappointed that you couldn't come today, and she said next time we both have to come."

Amy smiled widely. "Will you?" She asked curiously. "Come next time, I mean."

"Maybe. If I'm around." For a moment they said nothing, their gazes connected. Ian reached out and laid his hand against her forehead for the second time that day. "You feel warmer," He murmured. Then, as if it might help her temperature go down, he added, "Eat your soup."

His fingers slid away from her.

She said nothing, just picked up the spoon and did as she was told. After about a minute, though, she set the spoon down again and asked, "Are you just going to sit there and watch me?" She asked, looking uncomfortable. Ian hadn't even realized that it might have gotten awkward.

He stood up. "Nah," He said. "I'll come back later to get the bowl. When it's empty." Amy nodded, yawning. Ian realized how tired she looked.

He left.

* * *

Amy finished her soup and set the tray and the bowl on the chair that Ian had pulled up. She also carefully set her card on her nightstand.

She blew her nose and threw the tissue across the room, aiming for her waste basket. She missed.

"Whatever," She muttered to herself. She felt incredibly tired, but she didn't want to fall asleep until Ian came back to get the bowl. THEN she could sleep...

Amy switched to lying down, anyway, making herself comfy and letting out a long, drawn-out sigh. Her pillow was soft beneath her cheek. She shivered, her body making the switch from feverishly hot to cold with the chills.

Thinking about it, she was really glad that Ian had ended up being the replacement babysitter. It seemed like he'd had a good enough time, and she'd thought he might actually be good with kids. If he tried... She really was just glad that everything had turned out alright. And it had been so nice of him to bring the soup up to her room...

Amy could feel herself dozing off. Her entire body felt tense. But as her eyes closed she could feel herself relaxing, and she thought, I'll just sleep for a little bit. But at that moment, the door to Amy's room slowly opened.

It's Ian, she thought. She felt too tired to open her eyes again. She thought, he'll get the bowl and he'll leave...

He didn't leave.

Amy could hear the faint sounds of him sitting down in the chair. Her hearing was making everything sound distant and hazy. Must be a side effect of her cold, she decided. Or fever. Or whatever sickness it was. She was still shivering.

"Are you asleep?" Amy heard Ian whisper, his voice confirming that it was, indeed, him.

"I don't know," She mumbled.

Amy heard Ian laughing quietly. (She still didn't have the drive to actually open her eyelids.) She sighed, absentmindedly wondering what he was doing here. What he wanted, besides to bring her bowl back to the kitchen, where it could be washed.

Amy was surprised to feel his hand meet with hers (which was hanging down from beneath her many blankets), his fingers carefully lacing together with hers. With his other hand he pulled her blankets up to her chin, so that the only part of her uncovered was her head and her hand in his. This finally prompted her to open her eyes. "W-what are you doing?" She whispered.

"Taking care of you." He replied easily.

"Why?" She asked.

Ian sighed and leaned in towards her, bringing his lips up close to her ear. "Because I want to." He said. His calm voice and his hand over hers made her eyelids close again, as if drawn shut magnetically. Ian moved slowly and Amy could feel him carefully connecting his lips to her forehead in a light, gentle kiss before he said, "Now go to sleep, Amy. You need to rest."

* * *

_A/N_

Please review :) I'd like to know your opinion on this! Now, have a nice day! :D

~Lovely


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